Former Irish football players had their chance to audition for future employers today in South Bend at the Notre Dame Pro Day. It was a reunion of sorts as players from all over worked out inside the Gug under the watchful eyes of NFL scouts.

With Notre Dame only losing starters Ben Koyack, Cody Riggs and Kyle Brindza to the NFL, it’s not expected to be a big year for the Irish in the draft. But also returning to campus to audution were former captain Cam McDaniel, DaVaris Daniels, Jake Golic, Andrew Hendrix, Ethan Johnson, Kendall Moore, Justin Utupo and Alex Welch.

Daniels and Moore are back on campus even after last season’s suspension. They’re joined by Miami RedHawks Hendrix and Welch, who played out their eligibility under former offensive coordinator Chuck Martin.

Golic returned to campus after playing at Cincinnati. Johnson is looking to return to the NFL after being a part of the concussion class action lawsuit and a cup of coffee with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Let’s take to social media to get you some results:

Here’s an update on Cody Riggs, who was a surprise to be not among the invites to the combine in Indianapolis, but certainly helped his draft stock by running as fast as you’d have expected.

Koyack was at the Senior Bowl and Combine and is likely to be the first former Irish player off the draft board, though maybe not as early as previous Notre Dame tight ends.

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Also back on campus is McDaniel, who is days away from becoming a father. A fringe candidate to make a roster, McDaniel showed some versatility—needed if he’s going to be a special teams performer on Sundays.

Daniels spoke with media at the event, doing his best to put his suspension and inability to return to South Bend into context.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Daniels acknowledged to The Observer‘s Mike Monaco. “I don’t hold any grudges. I just don’t really like thinking about the situation… it is what it is. At this point, I’m ready for the NFL. That’s my focus.”

Daniels estimates he’s got a little over two semesters left of work to complete before earning his Notre Dame degree. He said all the right things about moving forward and hopefully finishing up his course work, while also taking the high road about the frustrating time where all five suspended athletes waited to hear their fate.

Most importantly for Daniels, at least when it comes to his immediate employment future, is getting his speed and explosiveness back. Various reports had Daniels breaking into the 4.5-range on his 40, a critical threshold for him.

If you’re looking for good news out of South Bend, defensive end Ishaq Williams—currently in football and academic purgatory—was on hand watching the festivities. Williams didn’t speak to any media but sat with his teammates for the festivities, though what to make of that isn’t clear.

While scholarship numbers are tight, Williams could be a great addition to a defensive front that’s looking for more bulk, and it’d allow him to finish his Notre Dame degree after a two semester exile.

The very best college football has to offer will gather tomorrow night in Radio City Music Hall, waiting to hear their names announced during the opening round of the NFL Draft. Meanwhile, former Irish defensive end Ethan Johnson will be a thousand miles away, hopefully making up for lost time.

For a player that spent the better part of four years in the Irish starting lineup, you’d think he’d feel up to speed. But a senior season derailed by an ankle injury, and some personal problems at home that kept him away from training for the draft, had many believing Johnson had played his final down of football.

Johnson sat and watched as NFL scouts put Irish seniors through their final audition before this weekend’s NFL Draft during Notre Dame’s Senior Day. What appeared to be the desire to walk away from the game was really a personal problem Johnson kept under wraps.

“I had a family medical issue that demanded my immediate attention,” Johnson said. “I was flying back to Portland almost every weekend trying to resolve it, and I wasn’t able to give my full attention to the pro day. Although I was staying in shape and I was working out as much as possible, there’s a huge difference between doing that and getting prepared for the NFL combine and testing.”

The setback was just another pitfall in a career that was pock-marked with difficulty. A knee injury suffered in the first game of his senior season of high school kept him out of action until he arrived in South Bend. After a promising true freshman campaign where Johnson tied for the team lead in sacks, he moved to the interior of the line for his sophomore year, playing as an undersized defensive tackle for a defense that struggled to stop the run and fell apart down the stretch.

Brian Kelly’s hiring and the return to the 3-4 defense put Johnson back at his natural end position and he started all thirteen games during a rock solid junior campaign. After a disastrous stretch of football from a developmental standpoint — three different defensive coordinators, four different position coaches (Mike Elston’s illness kept him out of action for a stretch) — it seemed things were coming together for a promising senior season. Until an ankle injury against Purdue all but ended his senior season.

“The injury was frustrating. I started the season the way I wanted to, but four games wasn’t enough to make a huge impression,” Johnson said. “When I came back I wasn’t close to 100 percent but I could still help the team win, so I came back because we really needed help against the run, so I wanted to be out there.”

Johnson was out there, but no where near at his best, nullifying his ability to get to the passer and keeping him far from full strength when he returned to duty against Maryland.

“Trying to stop the run with a high ankle sprain isn’t the easiest thing to do,” Johnson said. “But I felt like I did an okay job.”

If there’s one thing that might be a bigger challenge than battling through an ankle injury, it’s getting on NFL Draft boards after jumping into the fray late. With things at home solved quicker than expected (Johnson at one point considered an attempt for the 2013 season), he and his agent went about reminding teams about a certain 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive end that can both play in the 3-4 and also get after the passer.

“When I first told my agent that I wanted to play, I was just hoping that I’d get a chance to go to camp and prove myself,” Johnson said. “But I’ve been contacted by almost every team, every team has my number to call. I’m completely healthy, my ankle is completely healthy, and I’m in my better shape than I was last season.”

It might be an uphill battle to hear his named called this weekend, but Johnson will stay in Florida training until it’s time to head to a team’s camp. Until then, he’ll keep his head down and wait for a team to give him a chance.

“I’ve had teams calling to say, ‘Look for our number on draft day,'” Johnson said. “I feel like teams are definitely interested.”

With Irish players at home enjoying some family time before reporting to Orlando tomorrow to begin bowl preparations, let’s clean out the note pad before Christmas weekend, with a lot of recruiting news coming soon.

***

It sounds like the race for five-star quarterback Gunner Kiel isn’t just between Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. Various reports have LSU pushing their way into the game, with Les Miles and the Tigers making a serious play for Kiel, who was just named Indiana Mr. Football this week.

Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.com has been as plugged in as anyone on Kiel’s recruitment and his latest report has Kiel legitimately torn between the three schools, with the timeline to early enroll coming very quickly.

Irish fan’s passion for Kiel — a player many regard as the No. 1 quarterback in the country — has been surprisingly level-headed. Maybe it’s the log jam that currently needs to play itself out with the current depth chart and the still-to-be-determined ability of guys like Andrew Hendrix and Everett Golson, but Kiel’s recruitment hasn’t turned into the message board soap opera other top prep quarterbacking targets have been in the past.

Still, with Dayne Crist gone and Luke Massa now working at wide receiver, there’s room on the depth chart for a quarterback, a position Kelly wants to add to every year in recruiting, and Kiel’s an awfully attractive option.

***

Speaking of quarterbacking options, the Irish have already set a contingency plan if Kiel doesn’t commit to Notre Dame, and he’s a really intriguing option. New Jersey quarterback Devin Fuller has come out of nowhere to be an option for the Irish at quarterback, and he’s an electric dual-threat QB that shows the type of versatility Brian Kelly is willing to play with in his offense.

One look at his junior season highlight tape (with impressive production value I might add) let’s you understand the type of athlete Fuller is, and the Irish have pulled back into consideration for a guy a few recruiting services view as a five-star recruit as well.

“I grew up a fan of Notre Dame,” Fuller told Steve Wiltfong. “My coach grew up a fan. That’s our school colors. Everything fits. The school is unbelievable. The opportunities after college would be endless.”

Fuller is being recruited right now by Bob Diaco, and will likely set an official visit to Notre Dame if Kiel doesn’t commit to Notre Dame. He’s been told by the coaching staff that he’s a quarterback in their minds, but he has the type of athleticism that could get him onto the field on both sides of the ball and at a variety of positions.

Obviously, Kiel and Fuller aren’t the same kind of quarterback. But it’s refreshing to see this coaching staff be so aggressive this late in the game, and still find dynamic players that are interesting in Notre Dame. Fuller has taken official visits to TCU and Nebraska and will visit Rutgers as well. He’ll play in the Army All-American game as well.

***

It hasn’t been the kind of senior year Ethan Johnson envisioned having, with a high ankle sprain limiting the veteran defensive end for the bulk of the season after getting off to a good start. Finally healthy, it’ll be interesting to see how NFL teams view Johnson, a really athletic 300 pound lineman that’s shown great versatility.

But don’t expect that to cross Johnson’s radar right now. He’s focused on beating Florida State.

“It’s all that matters,” Johnson said. “It’s all we’re focused on right now. For this game we’ve had a long time to focus on it, and we’re going to continue to work and prepare and get ready to play our best football. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t do that, there’s no reason why we’re not going to do that… We’re going to do that.”

For Irish fans lukewarm on a late December bowl game after having hopes for the BCS, hearing Johnson talk so pointedly about the importance of this game has to make you feel good about the progress of this football team, even if the four regular season losses were a big let down. But it all goes to the process of building a program, something Johnson and the departing senior class feel is part of their job.

“I’m a guy who believes you leave something better than you found it,” Johnson said. “I definitely want to do that. I want to leave this place better than when I found it.”

***

For those following the Irish’s quest to add another running back to their depleted depth chart, the Irish will find out if the recruiting class with add a complement to Will Mahone on December 29th, just a few hours before taking on the Seminoles.

That’s because Seattle running back KeiVarae Russell will be holding a press conference at his high school to announce his college choice, with the Irish and the hometown Washington Huskies finalists.

“It’s not tough at all,” said Russell, when asked where he’s at in the process. “I know exactly where I’m going. I’m just not going to tell anyone until next week.”

Right now, he’s not tipping his cap on whether it will be Washington or Notre Dame. He plans to make his decision public during a ceremony at Mariner at noon Dec. 29 — there is a chance it will happen on the 28th.

“I saw myself going to that school a few weeks ago, probably before my Cal visit,” he said. “I kind of knew where I was going to go but I wanted to make sure.”

Again, a quick look at his junior year highlights shows you a pretty dynamic athlete and a guy that looks to win the battle with speed and quickness as opposed to power. With Mahone looking like the kind of back that could take Jonas Gray’s place, adding Russell to the fold would help solidify the running back position, and add some certainty to a recruiting class that’s still actively pursuing a lot of big fish.

***

Say what you want about Charlie Weis, but the man can recruit quarterbacks. Not only did Weis sign Dayne Crist to take over the starting job next season, he also took in former Irish target and one-time five-star recruit Jake Heaps, who’ll sit out next season after transferring from BYU and have two seasons to play for the Jayhawks.

The Jayhawks only have eight verbal commitments, but Weis has already accepted the commitment of Tre Parmalee, son of his former Irish assistant Bernie Parmalee, and is likely to score the commitment of South Bend’s Gehrig Dieter, who has put up some incredibly prolific numbers this season.

Of course, Weis still needs to put together a defensive staff, something he struggled to do at Notre Dame, and that process is ongoing.

There has been grumbling about the slow pace with which Weis has gone about hiring a defensive coordinator and filling out the rest of his coaching staff. But according to KU athletic director Sheahon Zenger, the delay has been by design. Monday night, during his time on “Hawk Talk with Bill Self,” Zenger talked about the ongoing quest for assistant coaches and shed light on Weis’ timetable.

“I’m watching him go through this process, and it’s really an old scientific term that we used to use in data collection of sifting and sorting through the folks and trying to get just the right combination,” Zenger said. “Sometimes I find myself shifting into fan mode when he shares names with me: I kind of go, ‘Well, hire him, hire him and hire him,’ but that’s not what he needs to do. He needs to make sure he gets the right puzzle pieces together to make this thing really work.”

Zenger, who has been a part of football coaching staffs at Kansas State, South Florida and Wyoming, says there is more that goes into putting together a coaching staff that many might think.

“That’s what he’s going through now,” Zenger said. “We’re going through background checks, and you gotta make sure the spouses would be happy in Lawrence. People don’t think about that, but when you bring together a staff of nine full-time assistants, you’re also bringing together nine families. And that’s critical to the chemistry of the staff.”

It’s good to see Charlie taking coaching chemistry to heart, but he’ll likely need to have his mind made up by January 3rd, when the recruiting dead period ends.

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Just a quick note to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. It’s been an up-and-down season for the Irish, but we had a great year on the blog, with so many new readers coming aboard and continuing to stop by. Thanks for making this a stop in your search for Irish news. I truly appreciate it.

Brian Kelly met with the assembled media today and talked about wrapping up Purdue, prepping for Air Force, and getting ready for head coach Troy Calhoun and his very dangerous quarterback Tim Jefferson.

If you’re curious what Kelly thinks about Jefferson and what he does to a defense, this quote should do it:

“It’s just a nightmare,” Kelly said. “He throws the ball so well that, again, you’re put in so many conflicts dealing with this offensive structure, and it starts with Jefferson’s ability to throw the football.”

Here’s some video highlights from this afternoon’s press conference. As usual, I’ll fill in some thoughts after:

If you’re looking for a main storyline this week, it’s how well can Bob Diaco and the Irish defensive staff put together a gameplan that’ll shutdown Air Force’s option-based offense. After having their scheme rightfully cross-examined after the bludgeoning it took against Navy, Kelly talked about how the experiences playing against Navy and Army helped as they prepare for Air Force’s offensive attack.

“We have to play the way we play,” Kelly said. “We cannot become so out of character in stopping the option that we forget about the things that we teach every day. That is playing physical, flying to the football, great tackling. I think you’ve got to be careful because sometimes option, you get this sense of, Hey, it’s option. But we have to do what we do. That is, we’ve got to play physical at the line of scrimmage and we’ve got to tackle well as understanding the option being the most important principle.”

Kelly hits on, to me, what is one of the more interesting developments of the Brian Kelly era. While Kelly was known as an offensive mastermind before coming to South Bend, what we’ve actually seen is a guy that doesn’t really plan to out-scheme you, but simply beat you by finding a core competency and have his team excel doing just that.

If you’re looking for a reason to be confident against Air Force, it’s that Kelly believes that the strength and physicality of this defense is good enough that it simply needs to do what it does. Sure they’ll gameplan and make tweaks because of the option, but they’ll do that inside the framework of the defense’s principles — a unit that’s developed pretty impressively in a short time under Kelly and Diaco.

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After spraining an ankle early against Purdue, Kelly is still unable to figure out where Ethan Johnson is in his progress toward seeing the field this weekend.

“He is still in that walking boot. He will be until about Thursday. We’ll take it off. We’ll have to see how he moves around on Thursday,” Kelly said. “When you immobilize for 48, you’re hoping for great results. We’ve been very aggressive in the treatment, but we’ll have to really see on Thursday. He’ll be involved in all of our drills, our walk-throughs. He’s going to be an inside guy for us, so he’s just got to be physical at the point of attack. It’s not like he’s going to have a lot of different things going on. We hope he’ll be able to answer the bell.”

I don’t expect to see Johnson this weekend, only because I think the coaching staff thinks that they can get by without using him on Saturday and give him two full weeks to get ready for USC. That said, Kelly pointed to an interesting personnel decision, choosing to use Johnson as an inside guy — likely in the mix with Louis Nix and Sean Cwynar, not necessarily at defensive end.

Kelly made it clear that both freshman, Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt, will play this weekend against Air Force, giving the youngsters a chance to team with Kapron Lewis-Moore, who has had some productive Saturdays against option teams in the past. I’d also expect to see Darius Fleming with his hand on the ground, giving way to Steve Filer or Ishaq Williams outside at linebacker.

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Kelly had one of the better lines of the press conference when talking about the continued development of sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees.

“He’s been in some big games and some very difficult environments. He’s developing that scar tissue that you need to play quarterback with me as well, and that is he’s constantly being challenged to be better. He’s taken very well to that. I think all of our players have a great trust in him.”

The term “scar tissue” really resonates with me and is a great way to describe the evolution of a quarterback. Thinking back to the past few quarterbacks at Notre Dame, there were certainly cuts and scrapes along the way that aided in the development of these players.

Brady Quinn isn’t who he is without a few very tough football game in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Same for Jimmy Clausen. You’re seeing that Kelly believes that Rees is a guy that understands the offense and will only continue to get better, helping to refute the growing narrative that Rees has a low ceiling.

Kelly then talked about the decision to stick with Tommy against Pitt, even when it seemed like Dayne Crist might have been a better option.

“Even though he probably didn’t have his best game against Pittsburgh, there were many people asking why we didn’t go back to Dayne,” Kelly said. “I think Dayne is extremely capable of running our offense, being successful, but we wanted consistency and continuity, and we felt Tommy was going to give us that.”

I’m starting to think it might make sense to put together a up-tempo scheme for Crist, something that allows him to use his under-appreciated running ability and also get him on the field against Air Force. Sure, sophomore Andrew Hendrix or freshman Everett Golson might be better in a true dual-threat capacity, but neither have the command of the offense that Crist has.

Crist hasn’t shown the ability to stay healthy, but he has shown himself to be a pretty decent runner, something Tommy just doesn’t have in his arsenal.

In a series of games that have seen close wins by both Michigan State and Notre Dame, the Irish finally were able to pull off an impressive victory — something that’s been few and far between these past 15 years. After dominating the Spartans in every phase of the game, it’s finally time to find the good, bad and ugly of a football game that still ultimately ends up in the good column.

With the Irish dominating the run game, relentlessly chasing Kirk Cousins in the pocket and creating a big play on special teams, Notre Dame found the winning recipe on Saturday, even while struggling to shrug off some of the mistakes that have plagued the team in these first three games.

As the season passes the quarter turn, let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly of Notre Dame’s 31-13 victory over the No. 15 Michigan State Spartans.

THE GOOD:

The Irish rush defense. After trying to play assignment perfect defense for the first two weeks of the season, the Irish went back to just trying to dominate a segment of the opposition, turning the Spartans one-dimensional with an aggressive attacking scheme at the line of scrimmage. The result was a Michigan State running game stuck in neutral and Cousins forced to chuck the ball 53 times, a recipe for disaster with an offensive line like the Spartans.

After looking at the game tape, Brian Kelly continues to see the impressive work he’s getting from newcomer Louis Nix, who has elevated his game with Sean Cwynar limited with a hand injury that forces him to cast resembling a club on his hand.

The play of Nix and defense ends Ethan Johnson and Kapron Lewis-Moore, gives the Irish a nearly 1,000 pound three-man front that has the ability to wreak havoc. Kelly talked about what stood out on film after watching the tape of the defense’s work.

“We got really good play at the nose. I think when you talk about Nix and getting Cwynar back, that position was really strong for us on Saturday,” Kelly said. “I think we always talk about it, but both of our defensive ends were able to take on some big tackles at Michigan State. Ethan and Kap played very well against the run. Troy Niklas who came in as a true freshman kept the ball inside of them.”

The Irish gave up some plays in the passing game, but after two straight games of reading and reacting, it seemed like Bob Diaco and the Irish coaching staff wanted to dictate terms to the offense, and the results were encouraging.

THE BAD:

The Irish punt teams might be historically bad. With a nice day punting, Ben Turk moved up to 104th in the country in punting average. His rugby punts in particular might be something to build off when getting Turk’s confidence back in order. Still, Turk’s punts have consistently put the Irish on the wrong side of the field far too often.

On the other side of the ball, the Irish are the 111th ranked punt return team, and that doesn’t take into account the damage Theo Riddick and John Goodman‘s muffed punts did with potentially game-changing turnovers. Notre Dame is averaging less than one yard a return (0.70 to be exact), and it’s been a comedy of errors just getting Irish returners to master simple concepts like catching the ball or calling for a fair catch.

The sure-handed Goodman is allowed to have brain farts like he did against Michigan — not fair-catching a punt he should have, calling for one when he had 20 yards of grass in front of him on another, and running backwards and laterally on a third, if he at least catches the ball. With a crucial fourth quarter punt going through his wickets on Saturday, he’s not proving that he can’t be trusted to do that. Kelly has already turned to freshman George Atkinson on kickoff returns. It’s only a matter of time before he gives Cam McDaniel his shot on punts.

Turk’s short punts have also been low, helping to push the Irish into the 112th ranked team in covering punt returns, with Notre Dame yielding an astronomical 27.5 yards a return. Mike Elston‘s troops were a top 25 unit last year, so this is bound to get better, but the combination of shoddy coverage and mediocre kicking points out two units in dire need of improvement.

THE UGLY:

With amateurism under attack in places like Auburn, Columbus, Eugene, Los Angeles and Miami, the NCAA has taken great pains to up enforcement and compliance as schools work to keep illicit money out of the pockets of student athletes. Yet at the same time, the presidents and athletic directors making sure scholarship athletes aren’t taking advantage of the system are hellbent on doing the exact same thing, throwing tradition and affiliations to the wind and blowing up conferences at the first glimpse of a new television contract.

On a Saturday filled with intriguing match-ups, there’s something terribly wrong with the leadership in collegiate athletics when the wheeling-and-dealing off the field is stealing headlines from the players on it. When a top-five match-up between Oklahoma and Florida State is page two news behind Syracuse and Pittsburgh leaving the Big East for the ACC and its television riches, there’s something very wrong with a system that’s buckling down on players’ indiscretions while the grownups are imploding the history of the game for a quick buck.

As Brian Kelly commented about his team’s long awaited first victory, he also needed to field questions about the Irish’s cherished independent status, now thrown back into flux as pieces begin to shift that could change collegiate athletics’ landscape forever. Those changes could potentially push Notre Dame into a conference in football, with four super-conferences possibly on the horizon.

Being tasked with winning football games, keeping track of 85 players, and running a clean program should be enough for college football coaches. They shouldn’t have to keep an eye on their bosses as they blow up the status quo in search of more money.